Secretary-General's statements

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Secretary-General's statements

The Secretariat expresses its heartfelt condolences to the people of Sri Lanka for the loss of lives and many injuries following the bomb blasts that struck churches and hotels today.
The Secretariat is in contact with the Sri Lankan Government and is monitoring the situation closely.
The security implications for CoP18 are being evaluated. Further information will be provided as soon as possible and in the meantime the Secretariat thanks Parties and observers for their patience and understanding. The Secretariat is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of the conference and all participants.
Ivonne Higuero
CITES Secretary-General
21 April 2019

21 March 2019, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Honorable Minister General Surasak Karnjanarat, distinguished delegates from ASEAN member States, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
It is an honour and a privilege to join you at this very timely Special ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Illegal Wildlife Trade. Thank you for your invitation, Excellency, and I take this opportunity to congratulate Thailand as the 2019 Chair of ASEAN. You have put in place excellent arrangements for this meeting, last night was spectacular, and we at the Secretariat are fortunate to have experienced the generosity of Thailand, as hosts for two of our Conference of the Parties.
As you know, wildlife crime poses a threat to the survival of some of the world’s most charismatic species and, equally, to many lesser-known species, often with devastating economic, social and environmental consequences.

Ivonne Higuero, CITES Secretary-General
The 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will take place at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 23 May to 3 June 2019. This will be the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES in South Asia since CoP3 held in New Delhi, India way back in 1981.

It is a privilege and an honour for me to address you as I officially assume the office today as the Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and to be the first woman to have been chosen to lead its Secretariat.
I am grateful for the confidence shown in me by the United Nations Secretary-General to ensure that the critical work of such a long-established Convention continues to be serviced efficiently and effectively by the Secretariat.

John E. Scanlon
6 April, 2018
Perhaps due to my background as a lawyer, I always regarded CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) as a remarkable international legal agreement. A well-crafted and targeted founding text, a body of resolutions that had enabled the Convention to evolve over time, committed Parties and highly engaged stakeholders, all with a deep technical knowledge of the Convention.

Just seven years ago in India’s magnificent Manas National Park, there were no tigers to speak of, just a few remnants of a population wiped out after decades of civil unrest that left the park’s wildlife vulnerable to persecution.

UN World Wildlife Day 2018. Big Cats: Predators Under Threat!
Opening Remarks by John E. Scanlon, Moderator and CITES Secretary-General
2 March 2018
Deputy Secretary-General, Excellences, Distinguished guests, friends of wildlife!
A very warm welcome to all of you on this wild and wintery day to the 5th celebration of UN World Wildlife Day. World Wildlife Day has today become the largest global annual celebration of wildlife.

Big Cats: Predators Under Threat
‘CITES turns 45 as we celebrate the 5th World Wildlife Day’
1 March, 2018, Washington DC, USA
Director Christine Dawson
Deputy Assistant Secretary Jim Walsh
Colleagues
Friends of Wildlife!
I can think of no more appropriative place to be celebrating World Wildlife Day than right here in Washington DC, as it is what took place here on 3 March 1973 that served to inspire the Parties to CITES and the UN General Assembly in 2013 to declare 3 March as World Wildlife Day.